Tamil Nadu snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in death overs as they became the first team to win the Syed Mushtaq Ali (SMAT) title for the third time. Shahrukh Khan turned out to be the real-life hero with his flawless big-hitting in the final stages of the tournament. The four-wicket win of the last ball of the match also helped Tamil Nadu avenge the one-run defeat at the hands of Karnataka in the 2019/20 season final.
Shahrukh Khan – the finisher
For a better part of the run chase, Tamil Nadu were playing the catch-up game as the required run rate kept going up. Things started to slow down after opener Hari Nishanth’s cameo was ended by a run out. Nishanth scored 21 runs off just 12 balls including two fours and one six. In the middle overs, Tamil Nadu found themselves toiling hard for boundaries. While N Jagadeesan struggled at one end playing the anchor role, there was a boundary drought at the other end as Sai Sudharshan and Shankar scored at a strike rate below 100.
Chasing 152, at one point, Tamil Nadu were 95/4 after 15.2 overs, needing 57 runs from 28 deliveries. The final seemed to be heading Karnataka’s way for the third time in four seasons until Shahrukh walked in. The big-hitter turned the game on his head. In his unbeaten 33 off 15 deliveries, Shahrukh hit three massive sixes and one four. Tamil Nadu needed 16 runs off the final over, the left-arm pacer Prateek Jain kept on targeting Shahrukh’s legs and bowled two wides in the process. After bowling two yorkers down the leg side, he bowled in the slot and Shahrukh hit it towards the cow corner to end Karnataka’s hopes of winning their third title. Failing to defend 16 runs in the final over, Jain was left in tears as he bowled brilliantly in his first three overs conceding just 17 runs and picking up a wicket.
Kishore’s three-fer restricts Karnataka
Karnataka did not get off to an ideal start after being asked to bat first by Vijay Shankar. Left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore was handed the ball in the powerplay overs. The spinner got rid of opener Rohan Kadam off the first ball he bowled. In the last over of powerplay overs, he also got the wicket of skipper Manish Pandey. In the previous over veteran Karun Nair was also dismissed. After six overs, Karnataka could manage only 34 runs for the loss of three crucial wickets.
Later in the innings, Kishore came back to bowl and got the wicket of wicketkeeper-batter Sharath BR who was struggling for boundaries. He conceded just 12 runs in four overs with three wickets in his account.
In the middle overs, Abhinav Manohar and Praveen Dubey got the innings back on track. Manohar scored 46 runs from 37 deliveries including four fours and two sixes. Pandey carried on and scored 33 runs off 25 deliveries including three fours and one six. In the end, it was Jagadeesha Suchith’s 7-ball 18 cameo that helped Karnataka post a fighting total of 151/7 on the board. Left-arm pacer T Natarajan turned out to be the most expensive bowler for Tamil Nadu as he leaked 44 runs from his four overs.
